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The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II [Paperback]

John E Nevola
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)

Price: $18.95 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Book Description

July 29, 2010
Would you like to thank a soldier and help a military family?  Read on! 

The Last Jump is a war story, a mystery, a love tale, and a tribute to the people who won World War II. Fact and fiction intermix seamlessly to unravel a secret passionately guarded by four aging soldiers. The reader is transported back in time to an imperfect America, with all is incredible virtues and vexing shortcomings, struggling with racial and gender issues while fighting for its very survival. It was a time when Americans stood shoulder to shoulder to free the world from tyranny. It celebrates the spirit and courage of ordinary citizens pitted against the militaristic regimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. It was a time when the sons of presidents and senators served, fought, suffered and died alongside average Americans and famous celebrities.

J.P. Kilroy, a middle-aged divorced journalist, regrets ignoring his mother's  deathbed request. Even her last letter, which told of the existence of a mysterious family secret, did not motivate him to reconcile with the father who left  them 30 years ago. When he receives an invitation from the White House to attend a Medal of Honor awards ceremony for African-Americans, he also discovers his estranged father recently passed away.
Was the secret now lost forever? 

Kilroy also discovers that four aging veterans,  the only links to the past, not only know the secret but swore an oath never to reveal it. They are the free-spirited Sky Johnson, a rough and tumble paratrooper, Frank West, the studious company commander, Harley Tidrick, Omaha Beach veteran and cousin of his father's best wartime buddy, and Lincoln Abraham, the only living black honoree at the ceremony.

With the aid of Cynthia Powers, an alluring Army press liaison, Kilroy accepts the challenge to cajole the veterans into revealing the mystery. Their conversations take him back in time to a country in grave danger but a country as united as never before or since. But the old warriors stubbornly resist until the last one passes on and Kilroy's hopes are dashed. But one reaches from beyond the grave to identify the only other person who has the answer and Kilroy races death to reach her. And a shocking conclusion awaits him, if only he can get there in time!

A portion of the proceeds are donated to assist families of the fallen.

Frequently Bought Together

The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II + If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story + The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II
Price for all three: $40.12

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book. It lit a lot of lights for me!"
-- S/Sgt Richard "Red" Falvey, WWII veteran of Normandy, Holland and the Battle of the Bulge. 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

"An amazing job and a tremendous effort by a talented writer."
-- Lt. Col. James "Maggie" Megellas, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Most decorated officer of the 82nd Airborne Division, Author of All The Way To Berlin.

"This is a really, really good book...it reminded me of Herman Wouk's second book, War and Remembrance."
--John Austin, host of "The Book Club" - WTAN 1340 Radio, Tampa.

"...the first romantic military history...ever written that should have "all women should read" stamped on the cover. Men too. A good movie candidate."
-- Rob Flournoy, Book Reviewer, The Military Writer's Society of America

"Secrets remain secrets for a reason. The Last Jump, focusing on gender and racial issues throughout the War, is a riveting and touching novel about the greatest generation."
-- Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI )





From the Author

When I was eighteen years old I was lying in a hospital bed recovering from surgery to repair a broken ankle.  I took a book from the library cart.  After reading it for a few minutes I remarked that I could write as well, if not better.  It was the typical arrogance of youth. My roommate challenged me.  "Then do it!"

I have been writing and reading ever since.  But life has a way of shaping one's plans, actions and distant dreams.  Personal aspirations are often temporarily set aside to accommodate the needs of a growing family.  Business correspondence and the occasional publication in a trade journal or business magazine allowed some outlet for creativity but hardly sufficient to quench the thirst entirely. There was scarcely time for any major projects and the few meager attempts went uncompleted. Short stories and poetry didn't cut it. Historical article submissions went unsold. Contributions to BLOGs or to Helium on the Internet were unsatisfying.   I could play in the sand but could not build a castle.

I filled in gaps in time by reading for enlightenment, enjoyment and in preparation for writing. Authors such as Michael and Jeff Shaara, Walter Lord, Herman Wouk and Cornelius Ryan inspired me.   Steven Pressfield, Victor Davis Hanson, Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough educated me and finally, W.E.B. Griffin and Ian Fleming entertained me. There were many others, of course, but these stand out.

Eventually, retirement offered an opportunity to focus on an unfulfilled passion and that is what I have been doing for the last five years.  As a result, I'm proud to present The Last Jump, the fruit of my labors and the fulfillment of my life-long dream. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 530 pages
  • Publisher: Outskirts Press (July 29, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1432755617
  • ISBN-13: 978-1432755614
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,130,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John E. Nevola makes his literary debut with The Last Jump, a historical novel based on United States Army airborne operations in Europe during World War II. The study of this conflict has been the author's lifelong passion and he weaves a compelling tale of courage and sacrifice set in a historically accurate backdrop in an extraordinary time in American history.

He is a United States Army veteran and a member of the Military Writers Society of America. Born in New York City, he is a graduate of Cardinal Hayes High School and the College of Aeronautics. Nevola resides in Mount Olive, New Jersey with his wife Josephine. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

Some proceeds from The Last Jump are donated to assist families of the fallen.




Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping WWII Novel July 11, 2011
Format:Paperback
The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II is the story of middle-aged journalist, J. P. Kilroy, who is invited in 1997 to go to a ceremony at the White House to accept the Medal of Honor for his dead father. When his mother was dying, she had told him he needed to find his father who had left years ago but J. P. never had. He felt his father could not get over J. P.'s going to Canada to avoid Vietnam War. While at the ceremony J. P. meets a number of his father's old war buddies and wanting to know more about his father he goes out to dinner with them. As he is a journalist, he tapes the conversation and when he uses the rest room the men acknowledge they are keeping a secret from him. This piques his interest but also some of the things they had said about his father intrigued him so he is determined to figure it out what the men are keeping from him.

The book then follows J. P. as he has conversations with his father's old buddies and the story flashes back so we get to know J. P.'s father and his best friend, both with the last name of Kilroy. You see how Jake and Johnny meet, become friends and go through their training and then on to Europe as paratroopers. They were excellent soldiers and found themselves behind enemy lines. Nevola gives you historical and military information about the battles they are involved in and you get a real feel for the horror of the war. You are on Omaha Beach with them as the bullets buzz by.

In addition to seeing the front lines, both of the men have girls back in the states so you get to see what it was like in America during the war. There is a glimpse of the women who were working in the shipyards, and those who were WACS and flying airplanes to transporting goods but not allowed in combat situations. You saw how the role of women was changing and how the people back home were sacrificing for the war.

The story progresses and J. P. is older, now 60 and wiser. His father's old friends are dying off. He had told he has everything he needs to figure out the secret but he still can't solve it until he meets someone else connected to his father and it all comes together.

This story has romance, mystery, and action. As it the story moves between time periods and places, Nevola has the geographical place and date as the chapter titles so there is no confusion. I also appreciated the quotations that begin each chapter. Nevola has done his homework and gives the historical background and though a few times I felt like I was reading a history book, most of the time the fictional story and historical information flowed smoothly. Since the story is dealing with soldiers there is some salty language and there are several graphic descriptions of the horrors of the war.

This is a sweeping novel that gives a picture of a different time in America and Nevola has given the reader a sense of why Tom Brokaw called that generation the Greatest Generation.
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Thousand Stories All In One September 1, 2010
Format:Paperback
While The Last Jump is the fictional account of several key players' participation in the events of World War Two, it contains an encyclopedia of period minutiae, and memories that define those years culturally, and historically. Encapsulated within 525 pages of educational reading, told with the help of a darn good yarn, a reader can learn as much about United States history from 1940 thru 1945 here as in anything that has ever been written. Detailed history in a love story that is representative of a million like it, going on at the same time, in every branch of the service, the reader gets a beautiful look at how it was to be an American at war during that time.

There is nothing dry here; anything but. This might be the first romantic military history book ever written that should have "all women should read" stamped on the cover. Men too, of course, by all means. This reviewer, a history buff, learned plenty. Another good movie candidate.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb novel of World War Two January 10, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are lots of novels of World War Two, but not many as good as this one. This novel truly gives a flavor for what it was like to be an American soldier during that conflict. It also has numerous sub-plots, all nicely woven together, about civilian workers, mainly women, who during that war, for the first time, were recruited to be pilots, shipyard workers, and factory workers. The attitudes and motivations of the people of America during this time is the real theme of this novel.

This novel's strongest suit is its readability. This one captured my interest right away and held it to the end. Primarily this story revolves around two soldiers who are buddies in the Airborne, with flashbacks involving the son of one of the soldiers seeking to find out more about his father's service in the War. The prose in this novel is far above average, and this novel accomplishes the not-inconsiderable task of acquainting the reader with many historical aspects of the War through the actions and experiences of fictional characters rather than narration. This novel is unabashedly in opposition to historical revisionism, and through its characters reflects the moral certainty that was characteristic of most Americans at that time. During the War and for a long time thereafter, very few Americans doubted the justness of America's cause in the War, or the fundamental difference between America and the Western Allies, on the one hand, and the Axis Powers on the other. And it does so with very little by way of preaching or politicization. Americans of that time simply believed America's cause and conduct of the War were just.

While this novel has a point to make, and makes it well, its strong suit is that it is one entertaining novel. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome makes me proud!
This an unforgettable book about an amazing time in our history. I've always enjoyed the movies about World War II. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Linda A. Rhodes
4.0 out of 5 stars The last June.p
Excellent move that could almost be true. Battle descriptions were realistic and gave incitrestinctive to what our military endured for victory. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Edna A. Rizzo
4.0 out of 5 stars If anyone finds military history interesting this is worth reading.
Very much like the mini-series, " Band of Brothers." Almost two stories in one. A war story and a mystery concerning one of the main characters.
Published 11 days ago by BillBills
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! What a book, what a great story. One of the most moving things I...
Loved it, one of the best books I have read in along time. The greatest generation can never be forgotten or repayed for their contributions and sacrifices. READ THIS BOOK!!
Published 14 days ago by Cynthia L. Chapman
5.0 out of 5 stars THANK YOU
thank you to the author for writing this novel. I gained a greater understanding of what our parents went through, living during this time. Read more
Published 16 days ago by gloria jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW..ONE FABULOUS WAR STORY
A GREAT READ! Don't miss this book. your in all of the action, before you finish you
Will be friends with many of the soldiers and sorry the story ends
Published 27 days ago by Dexter Don
5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye-opener.
Outstanding book about WWII. Extremely well written and very factual. Battle details are a little tedious and rough to take at times but the truth is the truth. Read more
Published 27 days ago by RV Chick
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous story line!
What a phenomenal story! It was absolutely gripping from beginning to end. It is a tale that could certainly be true!
Published 29 days ago by thebowser
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book
I feel this is one of the best WWII books I've read and I have studied the war and its impacts for decades. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Clifford Finch
5.0 out of 5 stars The lastjump
Great story about America it's best. WW II was a time to for the world to know what great country we were. Hopefully we can get back there one day.
Published 1 month ago by Conniellewis
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